GIVING ALTERNATIVE LEARNERS UPLIFTING OPPORTUNITIES INC

GallopNYC uses horsemanship to inspire children and adults in NYC with developmental, emotional, social and physical challenges. Therapeutic horsemanship has proven benefits for body, mind and soul, and GallopNYC brings those benefits to children and adults challenged by disabilities such as autism, visual and hearing impairments, ADHD, cerebral palsy and post-traumatic stress disorder. While enjoying weekly riding sessions with PATH-certified instructors in a fun, friendly environment, riders walk, talk, connect, focus, behave and learn, inspiring each one to live life as fully, productively and independently as possible. Most of our riders come from low to moderate income families and pay no fees or deeply subsidized fees.

At GallopNYC, we help riders walk, talk, connect, focus, behave, and learn better, allowing them to embrace new possibilities as they learn new skills. In every case, as parents, teachers, and counselors alike tell us, GallopNYC changes the lives of people with disabilities and special needs.

Founded in 2005, GallopNYC now runs seven days a week in multiple locations, serving 500 riders each week with a dedicated core of 750 volunteers, 5 full time staff members and 14 instructors. Our growth reflects the immense need for quality programs for people with disabilities in NYC. It also shows the commitment and ability of GallopNYC to provide these essential services. But we have a waiting list of 600 riders, and need to grow much much more.

How does GallopNYC work? GallopNYC is 501c3 nonprofit organization that offers group and individual Therapeutic Horsemanship lessons in Brooklyn and Queens. We offer daily classes on a semester basis following PATH International’s Therapeutic Riding standards. (PATH International is an accrediting organization for therapeutic horsemanship.) Weekly, GallopNYC serves over 5o0 children and adults with developmental, emotional, social, and physical challenges. We have extensive experience with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and we also have expertise with a wide range of disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Down Syndrome, serious learning and emotional disabilities, visual and hearing impairment, and processing disorders.

In addition to the more traditional riding programs, GallopNYC has developed innovative job skills programs, counseling programs for girls and children at risk of abuse, and programs for homeless veterans.

GallopNYC Focuses on Families in Need. We concentrate our services on low-income children and adults with disabilities, at a time when the level of need in the New York metropolitan area is high and steadily growing. Data from the most recent Census indicates that 1 in 5 NYC residents is now living in poverty and that poverty among children under 18 has risen to 30 percent. At the same time, a first-of-its-kind analysis of the Census has shown that 1 in 20 school-age children across the US has a disability.

Recent articles quantify the often hidden economic cost of disabilities like autism: “The therapy, which is so necessary for the child’s success, is very expensive. Parents will fight insurance companies and school districts to cover the costs. Often, they are unsuccessful, and they must deplete family bank accounts… Families become drained both emotionally and financially. Working on their children’s behalf becomes a full-time job” (“The Economic Impact of Autism on Families,” The Atlantic).

Our program is effective. We measure and record the benefits to riders every day, and research studies on therapeutic riding confirm what we see. One recent study found that “a 10-week therapeutic horseback riding intervention with children diagnosed with [Autism Spectrum Disorders] can result in significant improvement,” specifically in measures of “self-regulation, adaptive expressive language skills, motor skills, and verbal praxis/motor planning skills” (R.L. Gabriels, Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders).

As one parent recently commented on her child’s first session with GallopNYC:
“Our family is still beaming and glowing after seeing [my son] on a horse! It's a dream come true. I have never seen him so responsive to any therapy so immediately! I am so grateful. I hope you know that. You are doing such important and life-changing work. I saw that right away.”

We care about horses. At GallopNYC, we keep older horses working gently and productively, and well supplied with carrots and hugs.